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Albert Einstein...and the digital age manners...





I read an interesting article this morning in The West Australian newspaper about manners and the mobile phone. The journalist had canvassed a range of smartphone users, of all ages,  and asked for their comments about the use of their phones.  The article advised that "global studies have linked excessive mobile phone use to everything from depression and insomnia to loneliness and poor social skills."  

The journalist suggested that for most people a mobile phone is "more than either a convenient gadget or a psychological disorder waiting to happen - it is a way of life".

Later in the day a friend sent me an email which included all the photos in this post...the author and photographers are unknown.  They say that every picture tells a story...

A visit to the Museum or Art Gallery
I travel extensively and I have noticed that the use of mobile phones, in lieu of, and in situ with, face-to-face conversations has become more and more obvious in the countries I frequent in Europe and South East Asia.

Having a meal with friends
Last weekend I  had a party and included with the RSVP my landline number.  Most of my friends replied by text to my mobile number or my email address.   My son, aged 27, advised me that I was out of touch with the way people interact these days. " People don't talk on the phone Mumma, they text and check Facebook messages for invitations and replies..." Even only a year ago I would have thought that this was peculiar to  Gen X and Y, but obviously it is more demographically widespread. Clearly I have to brush up on my " non personal speak"  modern manners!


Catching up with a friends
The article concluded with a quote from a grandfather...
"I am pushing 70 now so, to me, it's a convenience and I just have the basic phone,"he said. "I was there before there was TV and then the computers came long.  I do notice people on their phone.  I wonder, are they talking to the world?  I'm an artist so I prefer to be just checking out the environment and living in the now".

Sadly, the day that Albert Einstein feared may have finally arrived...
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Comments

  1. GaynorBJanuary 8, 2013 at 2:10 PM

    I'm in agreement with the first sentence of the quotation but I'm not so certain about the second.

    I find that a quick conversation can be such a time saver. It beats the back and forth of about 27 texts to make even the simplest of arrangements!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LouiseJanuary 8, 2013 at 2:41 PM

    Gaynor, I so agree with you! I am not known for having long conversations on the phone, a habit I developed after years of security issues working for Prime Ministers. But still, the direct phone call makes things easier...unless it is from a Call Centre in India or the Philippines!!

    ReplyDelete

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